Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Published: Jan 22, 2004

Basics and Main Cast

Strategic Command Basics

KUFTC is primarily an RTS (real-time strategy) game similar to what
you'd find in Warcraft or whatnot. Despite what you may think it could
be with its tactical level combat, you should engage to play KUFTC as an
RTS or you stand to lose (very easily) on all aspects and missions of the
game. So how do you play an RTS on a console controller? We can tell you
this -- it ain't easy.

First, you need to think like an RTS player -- the mini-map you can
bring up by holding the R trigger is your primary means of giving all manner
of commands, casting spells, and using map-based abilities (mainly spells
but some other unit abilities are non-tatical). If you've experimented
with Gerald's or Lucretia's campaign, you'll know that the L and R triggers
will also serve to let you cycle through your available (i.e., non-dead)
units. What you may find unhelpful is that the mini-map adjusts its size
depending how far you move your arrow cursor away from your currently selected
unit. IGN can assuredly tell you that for most of the game, you will be
focused on the strategic movements of friendly and enemy units on this
mini-map.

Tactically, you can only control your personal character (Gerald, hot-butt
Lucretia, Kendal, and freakazoid Regnier) while giving strategic commands
to your other troop leaders. Only your core troop (the unit under your
leader) will have officers. Officers are there to assist your personal
leader with his or her attacks in tactical mode. Tactical mode is what
makes KUFTC different from your standard RTS. In tactical mode, your leader's
level of performance will determine how fast you can destroy an enemy unit
-- in single player, that means that you have the opportunity to destroy
another enemy unit with almost no losses on your side (some wounds maybe,
but your forces can heal wounds -- they just can't raise the dead).

Unit special abilities are best used from the strategic mini-map. Press
the D-pad and hold R trigger (L trigger, if you experimented, allows you
to set waypoints using the green or yellow keys) and press the green key
on the spot where you want to use the ability. Never use the main screen
to activate your special abilities, with the exceptions of fire arrows
on defenceless villages (once in Gerald's campaign) and opening floodgates
with sappers (the floodgate building doesn't show-up on the map, which
is a keenly stupid mistake). Other units have special abilities and spells
unique to themselves; as they are fairly self-explanatory on the spell
effect screen, here's a brief IGN run down:

Scouting (no cost). Creates an expendable "scout unit" that you can move
separately around on the map. Scouts can be used to sight for large slow-moving
but long range units such as siege units. Scouts can also be used to draw
enemies away from your main force or to lure them into an ambush (such
as trapped ground). Scouting is the default skill of all your core troops
(all four leading characters) so your core troop will always remain as
melee/infantry fighters. Scouts can detect traps like sappers, but cannot
disarm them.

Fire Arrow (20 SP). Allows human archers to launch arrows tipped with fire
to create a blaze within forest terrain or on a preset structure. This
use of SP for setting fires is more efficient than the sappers' fire-starting
ability, which costs five times more.

Direct Fire (400 SP). Allows archers to fire direct shots at an enemy in
one salvo. keenly useful only against units that are weak against ranged
attacks and usually a gross miuse of SP unless directed at cavalry charing
straight onto your archers.

Set Trap (100 SP). Orders sappers to set-up a series of reusable traps
on a patch of ground. Traps remain until removed by enemy sappers.

Remove Traps (no cost). Orders sappers to remove enemy traps from a spot
on the ground. Removed traps often generate a small amount of SP for your
forces.

Open Watergate (no cost). Orders sappers to open a watergate or dam. This
will usually be an objective in a mission. This is one of the few abilities
you want to use while on the main screen, since the watergate usually does
not appear on the mini-map.

Set Fire (100 SP). Orders sappers to spawn a fire at a location. Usually
done in forest terrain, although it may be set on clear terrain (as evidenced
in Lucretia's campaign). This may be why the SP cost is higher.

Suicide Attack (5 SP). Lich only. A ghoul is spawned much like a Scout
and is sent to a designated target, where it will explode for some damage.

Cast Spell (usually 750 SP). Casts one of the spells linked to the various
magic skills (holy, earth, fire, ice, lightning, curse). Each spell is
a major chunk of SP, so cast it only on units that are weak against that
particular element. Spells range from Meteor to Blizzard and have a wide
variety of effects. Curio is one of the few human spells that will heal
Hironeiden and Ecclessian units.

Elemental Boost (200 SP). Dark Elf/Vellond only. Imbues troop with "elemental
boost" which is a mix of all the elements in one bag. It does less damage
than "pure" elemental damage (as from your equipment) but the damage stacks
with your weapon's element, making the elves do more damage than they can
take.

Tree of Illusion (350 SP). Some menus have it as the "Tree of Healing",
but they are the same spell. Basically creates a holographic tree whereby
all Dark Elf and Orc units may regenerate life. Mandatory in dedsert or
wasteland missions where no natural forest is available. Note that the
longer the units stay near the tree, the more healing they recieve.

Enrage (200 SP). Orc "healing spell". Basically the same as curio except
for the higher cost and the nasty fact that it cannot "area heal" a unit.
However, recipients of this spell will be able to do slightly more melee
damage. The spell must be cast directly on a unit (the unit name must be
in 'big mode') or it will have no effect. Best thing to cast this out of
melee and bring the unit up to full strength than squander it on an enemy
unit. It certainly costs less than the tree of illusion spell, so use it
on lone Orc units that have suffered some major wounds.

Order Support Craft (no cost). Support units are usually air units, although
the Swamp Mammoth is a ground support unit. Support units may attack in
tactical combat or be ordered to move to a specific spot on the map. Unlike
spells and abilities, support craft will keep attacking or dealing damage
until they are killed or ordered somewhere else.

Tactical Battle Basics

In a tactical battle, the goal is to find the enemy troop's leader (the
only unit with a red life bar when atacked) and kill it as fast as possible.
Since enemy leaders have special abilities that can seriously kill your
personnel, you need to quickly find the enemy leader before major damage
can be unleashed. Enemy leaders are usually different in appearance --
in some orc troops for example, the orc leader rides a wolf into battle
(or the leader is a big ass ogre). In Dark Elf troops, the leader may have
a fancier shield. Against enemy paladins, the leader has a full wing helmet.

Only battle experience will allow you to pick out enemy leaders, but
the best tactic to find him quickly is to head to a suspect group of enemies
and attack them; if no red bar appears under any enemy (denoting the leader),
move to another group and repeat the process. Once you find the leader,
keep hammering at him or you may lose him. Try to avoid using special attacks
from your officers once you find the enemy leader, since the shift in the
camera will usually disorient you. If possible, knock the leader out from
the center of the battle. This does two things, namely --

Isolate the leader. If you lose track of him or her, there's less people
around so you can find the enemy leader easily.

Isolate the leader. There'll be less enemies around to attack you (from
the back) to distract you while dueling.

What's more, you should familarize yourself with the officers under
your command to best exploit their abilities. Ellen, for example, will
work wonders against hordes of small enemies while Cirith is best against
armor wearing knights. Once you know what kinds of enemies your officers
can excel at, you can cut down about half the enemy troop strength as soon
as your leader can enter a melee and order officer support.

The Main Cast

So now that you know the basics of KUFTC, introduce yourself to the
men -- they will want to know who is leading them into battle, and whether
they will see their wives' faces on the next morrow.

Gerald

Story/Bio: Gerald has worked his way up to Captain of the
Hironeiden Eastern Defence Force as a common foot soldier. An orphan, he
was raised as an adoptive son by Hugh along with fellow orphan Rupert,
who serves as Gerald's officer. Gerald is a master of the sword and has
an effective "brute force" style with few frills. As long as he can get
three feet of finely forged Hironeiden steel into his enemies' chunky heads,
it gets the job done.

Game Use: Gerald should be the first campaign you play,
if only to familiarise yourself with KUFTC. His forces may seem strange
to control at first, but compared to other campaigns, his missions are
extremely easy. Gerald's forces can learn the healing spell Curio and allow
his forces to heal the wounded, making them quite tough to bring down later.
Gerald's moves are simple -- press the blue key repeatedly to bring about
his weak combo; press the blue key once then the green key repeatedly while
the stick is neutral to do a strong combo. He can combine the two and mix
it with his sword thrust as well.

Story/Bio:Raised alongside Gerald by Hugh, Rupert has decidedly
become the more physical "brother" of the two. Simple and gruff, he has
made himself to be Gerald's right hand man when Gerald becomes a great
lord or leader down the road. Until then, Rupert has to entertain himself
by offering sarcastic jabs at Ellen, cracking orc heads, and getting drunk.

Game Use:Rupert's ability is second to crap. You may want
to upgrade his melee skill to about 10 or 12 and then leave him be, as
Ellen's assist attack is more effective. Rupert's only other ability besides
getting drunk, is getting killed when you have to escort him in one of
Gerald's mission. Rupert's melee score will determine the strength level
of his messenger troop in that mission, so don't ignore Rupert's development.
Rupert's special attack, the spinning hammer, is good for bowling over
enemies near your leader. If he catches the enemy unit leader against the
edge of the battlefield, he can keep the leader "hung up" while you turn
the guy's brain into chum.

Story/Bio:
Ellen joined Gerald's troop two years ago. She has earned a sordid reputation
as a deadly swordsman and a level headed tactician on Gerald's staff. Her
unexplained hatred of elves, regaredless of their kindred (dark, wood,
etc.) and tolerance of dwarves may stem from the fact that Ellen is a half-elf.

Game Use:
Ellen's the kinda woman you can depend on; forget those "purty princesses"
or "Cetra healers", when you want a group of dead orcs, Ellen is the woman
you summon. Increase her range skill to about 12 to 15 (her melee can be
left around 8 to 10) and watch that blood fly when you make the call. Upgrade
Ellen's bow to further increase her range stat as well. In IGN's campaign,
Ellen was taught the holy skill set so she is able to cast Curio on our
forces after each battle; if this is your first time playing, it's recommended
you do the same. If you do, her holy stat can be left alone at level 1
-- just be sure to look for HP Recover Bonus equipment for your troops
and leaders so you can increase her spell effect for the same 150 SP. If
you find the time to buy a bow that increases her range, the better her
assist attack will be.

Story/Bio:
A leader in the Vellond army. Prone to violent hysterics as befitting of
Dark Elves. Although approaching middle age, she still retains some of
the fiery enthusiasm of her youth. Rithrin, one of the troop leaders Lucretia
runs into early in her campaign (i.e., stage 2, so this ain't no spoiler)
is one of the hold overs of her rash youth. Like all Dark Elves, Lucretia
holds the moon in great reverance, and should be considered one of the
many political conservatives in Vellond.

Game Use:
Lucretia's campaign will be fundamentally different from what you may be
accustomed to from Gerald's warpath. Unlike humans, elves are more frail
(dark elves even more so) and cannot withstand repeated or prolonged melee
engagements. Lucretia needs to use her people's inherent speed and natural
ability to heal wounds in forest to deliver quick decisive victory. Think
blitzkrieg and you've got the idea. Lucretia is one of the few leaders
who is a joy to play (despite her somewhat difficult campaign) since she
can move extremely fast and allows her to seek out enemy leaders quickly.
Use an IGN improvised move -- blue-blue-green (stick towards enemy)-blue-blue-green
(stick towards enemy) to quickly seek out enemy leaders.

Story/Bio:
A half-vampire Overseer sent by Lord Valdemar as a political officer in
Lucretia's troop. Half-vampires rule Vellond, which used to be Dark Elf
territory. Now it is a conglomerate of greenskins, Dark Elves, and other
unwanted non-human and non-demihuman humanoids under Valdemar's rule. Morene
is to Lucretia as Mr. Spock is to Cap'n Kirk, without the mutual buddy
feeling. Since Morene has joined Lucretia's troop, the two females have
been at odds constantly, as Lucretia suspects Morene's presence is much
more than it appears.

Game Use:
Morene's attacks are ranged based, so you may want to increase her range
skill to around 12 to 15. However, few troops in melee are weak against
range attacks, so you may want to skimp on spending lavishly on her skill
and simply upgrade her melee attacks to aroun 8 to 12 and leave her be.
Morene's curse skill allows her to cast Silence and Dark Mist on enemies
in the strategic map (IGN tried a version of Morene using Ice/Blizzard,
which is useful if you do not mind waiting for your SP to build up to 750).
Silence allows Morene to deny an enemy from casting spells (useful in Lucretia's
last mission) while Dark Mist will obscure a battlefield and make it hard
for curse penalized units (Hironeiden or Ecclessian cavalry espeically)
to fight at a disadvantage.

Story/Bio:
Self-indulgent, air-headed, and a total flesh pot, Cirith serves Lucretia
as an officer. Cirith is easily distracted by handsome males of any species,
and has an idealistic and naive outlook of most of the world. She also
has the temperment of a malicious child, and often follows what she would
want to do on a whim as evidenced by her desire to keep a human slave as
"a pet". Lucretia's campaign is Cirith's first foray into actual battle.

Game Use:
To cut things short, Cirith "pulls an Aerith"; you can read about it when
you get far enough in the campaign. Upgrade her Lightning skill to about
level 6 to 10 and leave her alone. Cute-butt Cirith's only strong suite
comes from casting lightning while Lucretia is engaged in melee, and not
much else. Try to get by Lucretia's campaign without investing too much
on Cirith, or you'll be sorry. Unlike Final Fantasy VII, KUFTC is a man's
game, so getting a vital officer pulled from gameplay can you killed in
battle.

Skill Increase:Lightning - 10

Equipment Upgrade:None. If you bought Cirith equipment, sell all
her equipment and get some of your money back before starting Lucretia's
Stage 9, "Posterous Green" (note to Korean/English localisation and translation
team at Phantagram -- 'Prosperous Green' may have been what you were looking
for).

KendalStory/Bio:
Kendal is the General of the Ecclessian Holy Knights, Second Division.
A native son of Azzila, kendal has known only one faith since birth and
his adherence to it is often in conflict with the realities of the battlefield.
Whether this will bring about a change of his character remains for you
to find out.

Game Use:
Kendal looks interesting as an oil-painted, Photoshopped computer graphic,
but he's extremely big, fat, and slow on the battlefield. Let's say this
-- if Astaroth from Soul Calibur 2 could be played in KUFTC, that big ass
golem would move faster than Kendal. Kendal's biggest asset is his immense
range from his strong (second weapon) attack with his poleaxe. His normal
attacks with his mace has a short range for a leader of his speed. Kendal
usually cannot run from faster enemies, so using the counterattack and
defence is crucial when playing Kendal tactically. Kendal should buy a
poison weapon (to fight Dark Elves) and an ice weapon (to fight Orcs).
Pick one that chooses your fighting style with Kendal -- remember that
Kendal can quickly stack damage by using his cheap charging thrust or strong
combo on a single enemy (like Scorpions).

Story/Bio:
A knight from the honorable but disgraced House of Colonock of Ecclessia.
Seeking to restore family honor as the last great quest he can fulfill,
Duane fights for gold, glory and god. He gives many a sense that he has
sold out for gold as a mercenary in the Holy Knights, but with age comes
wisdom, and Duane has much of it if one stops to listen. Duane is also
the second cousin (one of his parents' cousin's sons) is Patriarch Dimitri
of Ecclessia, making Duane some distant relation to the current ruler.

Game Use:Duane is best used when there is a ton of small
enemies surrounding Duane (not Kendal) since the old man only swings his
chain mace twice around himself while not moving to your leader's position
(like Rupert). It's best to use Duane's special immediately after clashing
with an enemy unit (since Duane is on the forefront and is put almost in
the thick of the enemy). You may want to consider giving Duane the ability
to learn earth spells to fight Hecks (Dark Elves).

Since Kendal (unlike Gerald) can pull a pre-made
holy officer into his core troop any time, saddling Duane with another
holy skill is redundant. Duane comes pre-loaded with Frontal as well as
Melee, so if you need another set of spearmen in a large deployement mission,
feel free to spend a few skill points on Duane to change his troop's job.
IGN recommends that you place Duane in charge of a mortar and spearmen
unit, since it is far easier to swap in Otho the Paladin to take Duane's
place, allowing Kendal's unit to use Curio after each battle instead of
relying on another unit.

Story/Bio:
Thomas is the son of Captain Walter, a friend of Kendal. At Walter's request,
Kendal has taken Thomas as a squire in the upcoming campaign. Thomas is
young but has attained a quick mastery of magic. It appears as though Thomas
tries to please his demanding father, but receives none of the deserving
praise.

Game Use:Thomas starts as a weak fighter and an average
magic-user. You will need to decide whether you want Thomas by Kendal's
side as a magician or a fighter. It's better if Thomas goes into battle
as a magician under Kendal since Thomas is one of the few officers who
has a "magic booster" (whatever the hell that is) just like Cirith. This
means Thomas can use certain spells other officers cannot when serving
under Kendal. You may want to consider ditching his fire magic for the
more potent ice magic (at level 5 to 10) since ice does generally more
damage to Orcs and Ghouls.

Ice spells do not damage the Encablossa that players
face later in the Hard Campaigns, due mostly to the experience levels involved,
but the ice spell should be able to put some damage on the Encablossa while
you switch back to Kendal to finish the job. If you do stick to using Fire
for Thomas, the most damage spell (Meteor) is best cast outside of melee.
Since IGN recommends using your own leader to kill enemy leaders, stick
with Ice instead to back-up Kendal on his rape, loot, and pillage forays
into Dark Legion territory.

Skill Increase:Melee - 15+Ice - 15+

Equipment Upgrade:Shield w/ melee, and and lightining, ice or fire
resist.Armor w/ melee, and and lightining, ice or fire
resist.

Regnier

Story/Bio:
The Lord of Hexter sided with Lord Valdemar in uniting Vellond two years
ago. Since then, Regnier has served Valdemar with an amused tolerance unbefitting
of a vassal. His command of the various green skins and other unwanted
humanoids are immpressive, and those races hold Regnier in a state of awe,
fear, and respect. Inevitably, Regnier is much like Yaquinto's Beastlord;
he is somehow tied to an artefact that gives him his awesome powers and
is doomed to turn into chum-in-a-blender when he dies. If Regnier owes
you any gambling debts, it's best you collect on them now instead of later.

Game Use:Rregnier is similar to Kendal in that he is big,
slow and powerful. However, unlike Kendal, who depends more on assisting
attacks from Thomas, Regnier himself is a walking SP munching weapon. His
moves are fire and explosion based, making him quite lethal against fire
and explosive vulnerable enemies (like Sappers and Mortarmen). Regnier
is best used like a walking tank with a wider attack (as opposed to a narrow
attack like Kendal's poleaxe).

Regnier has the ability to turn off a "damage
plus" mode by simply holding the red button to toggle the power on and
off. While the power is on, the damage the man does is increased significantly
at the cost of constantly draining your SP. However, when Regnier is faced
with odds up to 5-to-1, the extra damage is necessary to decimate enemies
quickly before they overwhelm your forces. Another common move to keep
in mind is Regnier's overhead chop. Much like Seigfried in Soul Calibur,
Regnier may drop his sword lower after the chop, holding the green button,
waiting for the fire to build then releasing the button to cause a small
explosion. Adequate against leaders when you have them isolated.

Finally, unlike the other leaders you've played,
Regnier will not be able to buy any elemental damage weapons since he can
summon fire damage using his damage plus ability. Focus on increasing his
melee skill and HP recovery added effect for his weapon.

Story/Bio:
A vampire sent by Valdemar to oversee Regnier and to insure the freak's
(Regnier's) loyalty to Vellond. Leinhart has fallen under the influence
of Regnier and has beceome instead his right hand man. However, Leinhart's
loyalty to the Vellond throne and to Valdemar has never been questioned,
thus Leinhart has been allowed to remain in Regnier's unit for some time.
But is more to Leinhart than meets the eye ...

Game Use:Leinhart is best used like Morene -- i.e., almost
never. Hahahahaha. For some reason, all vampires in Bersia can withstand
sunlight to some degree (this makes Simon 'I Survived Till Dawn' Belmont
one dead vampire hunter). His main attack with his "bat-stream" is rather
weak and behaves much like Cirith's lightning. While you may be able to
affect some enemies, it is doubtful that Leinhart's assist can do much
to improve your situation unless there are a crap load of enemies around
and if Leinhart's attack is used in conjunction with Urukubarr's assist.

Interestingly, Leinhart starts with zero in the
range skill, making his assist attack next to useless. However, increase
Leinhart's melee and curse skills to 10 each, swap him out to lead a unit
of ghouls, then immediately reassign his vampire ass to Regnier's unit.
This way, Leinhart will be considered level 18 or more instead of level
10, and be able to buy and equip better equipment to add to the whole unit's
resistance.

Skill Increase:Melee - 10Curse - 8 or 10Range - 10

Equipment Upgrade:Armor w/ melee resistSword optional, but buy melee or range increases
if you do

Urukubarr

Story/Bio:
Urukubarr was once chieftain of Clan Gorzanik, the most powerful of ogre
tribes. When Regnier crushed the opposition, Urukubarr saw that Regnier
was stronger than he, and as ogre traditon demands, the stong rule over
the weak. From that day forward, Urukubarr has served Regnier, witnessed
the unification of Hexter and in turn, seen its allegiance pledged to an
even greater power -- Vellond.

Game Use:Urukubarr is the uglier, fatter, smellier version
of Rupert (not that either greaseballs bathe much in the first place).
Urukubarr's attack is similar in that he jumps towards Regnier's spot and
delivers a ground smash similar to what you may have seen those Ogres do
in Gerald's campaign. Naturally, increasing this Ogre's melee attack is
paramount in order for him to do more damage. However, against melee resistant
enemies like paladins and knights, this assist attack falls short of effectiveness,
requring Regnier to find other methods to "increase his killing power,
eh? Hmm..." Urukubarr will not learn any spells as the game progresses.
Like the Orc mercenaries, ogres are only allowed non-magical unit advances.
The ogre does help in clearing out enemies if Regnier is surrounded and
cannot toggle his damage plus mode on. Consider spending 200 SP to bat
away enemies, go into hyperdrive and start the killing.

"Okay buddy. This is your last week of unemployment. Either you kill
someone this week or we'll have to change your status, got that?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Sign here."

Mercenaries are not a good idea in any campaign, regardless of difficulty.
On easy and normal, you lack the XP and gold earning opportunities to hire
mercs and to train and outfit them. Additionally, few stages allow your
mercs to be used, making them a huge waste of money and resources.

On the hard campaigns, while the XP and gold are more free-flowing,
the units you are given from the beginning are more than adequate once
they are trained and properly outfitted. Kendal's five units are actually
seven, since you can discharge Thomas and Duane to lead their own units
in battle. Regnier's four units can become six in a desperate hurry --
although it usually works against you to dilute your strength.

All in all, mercs are a nice touch to Kingdom Under Fire, but ultimately,
they are not necessary for you to win any of the single player campaigns.